Romance Ahoy!

by Wendel J. Potter from the January 15, 2024 issue

Tagline: When Miranda's friend invited her out to the local seafood restaurant, she never imagined she'd end up catching feelings for a new man.

Observations: I liked this story. I like the meta aspect of the heroine being a budding romance author, even if I wondered if Miranda had a day-job, because graduating from college to be a romance novel writer is ambitious and risky. I identified strongly with her writer's block and the fact that she has a writer buddy to help her through the tough times. Also, Shrimp Boat Charlie's sounds like the kind of restaurant I want to go to.

However, other than Naomi saying at the beginning that she might be able to help Miranda figure out what the perfect man looks like, it wasn't crystal clear that this was matchmaker story. Miranda might have wondered if her friend Naomi might be interested in Charlie for herself, but she didn't. This is a very nit-picky point but I would like to have seen some other clue that Naomi meant for Charlie and Miranda to meet. Maybe Naomi could "suddenly remember" she had somewhere else to be. Or maybe Naomi could have been engaged.

Another small point--it's my nature to focus on the tiny details--Charlie would most likely not refer to his son's teacher by her first name.

But otherwise, great story!

Photo by Yoppy via Flickr CC License

Love on Ice

by Rosemary  Hayes from the January 8, 2024 issue

Tagline: When Jacqui had to help cover a shift at the cafe, she never imagined that her heart would be warmed with love on such a chilly day.

Observations: I adored this story! The more I read, the more things I found to love about it.

I loved the heroine's go-to attitude... I wasn't going to let a little snow stop me. Sara couldn't do her shift at the cafe today and Alex would need help.

"...this cafe used to be my uncle's DVD rental store a long time ago." -- Ah, the memories! I remember Blockbuster used to be a regular stop on my errands. That is, until I discovered Netflix would deliver to my mailbox. Gamechanger. I should have invested right then and there.

"Flat white?"

"How did you guess?"

"My hidden talent."

This reminds me of that movie Chocolat, where Viv's special talent is know which chocolate is someone's favorite.

I was quite surprised she was the boss. It's very rare for someone to get a plot twist in without me seeing it in advance. This was so nice!

It was like a scene from a movie. I gazed at him, he gazed at me. Sparks flew. -- Note the short sentences. Great choice. Moves us along their emotional arcs at a snappy pace.

Hayes calls back to the hidden talent comment, which is always nice. It's like an inside joke for the readers to enjoy too.

I also like how he brought photos for her to see. She would definitely love to see what her cafe looked like before she took over, not to mention the fact that it brings them a bit closer together.

I thought the ending was perfect. It even gave me chills. Excellent.

Photo by Bill McChesney via Flickr Creative Commons License

Serving up Romance

by Christine Greifzu from the January 1, 2024 issue

Tagline: When Jessa's sister asked her to help with her catering company on New Year's Eve, she never guessed what might be in store at midnight.

Off the Cuff Observations: So we start off with a paragraph of information to ground us in the time, the date, the situation/problem. Greifzu does a good job of including some of the info in dialogue which can be difficult to make sound natural, not stilted.

Aww, her boyfriend dumped her three weeks before Christmas. Here is where we feel for the heroine and connect with her. On a side note, I hope she hadn't bought him a present!

When he got closer, she gazed into the bluest eyes she could ever recall seeing. -- It's funny...I never notice eye color. Ever. I know, I'm weird.

Cody checked in on Jessa every so often to see if she needed help. -- What a nice guy!

After their first date a few days later, Jessa knew it had been worth the wait. She and Cody had incredible chemistry, and he turned out to be an amazing kisser. The New Year was going to be magnifique. -- I like this epilogue-ish type ending. I liked the call back to the kiss that never happened and the reference to her being a French teacher. It's little details like this that make a story nice and tight and connected.

Black Friday Tussle

by Melinda Cherry from the November 27, 2023 issue

Tagline: A heartbroken Dana found herself injured amid Black Friday chaos, but she was in for a surprise when she later stumbled upon true love.

Observations: I clearly need a better organizational system. I keep finding my Woman's Worlds out of order! My apologies for this Black Friday story analysis coming so late.

I can't recall ever reading a Black Friday Woman's World story before, so that's refreshingly new. I was surprised to see the extent of the heroine's injuries and that she went to the ER. I think in the past, Woman's World shied away from too much drama or danger, but the new editors are more open to expanding the magazine's range a tad.

This story hit a lot of emotional buttons. Obviously, there was a sense of wistfulness about missing her beloved late husband. We were warmed by how her family rallied around her in her time of need. I had some personal experience with that myself right before Christmas. I went into the hospital with a big kidney stone problem along with a bacterial infection that spread to my blood. During my six-day stay, my family were there, bringing me things from home, including yummy things to eat, keeping me company, and in the case of my sister, giving me a full body massage. I'm a very lucky woman, as is Dana, the heroine of the story.

The last emotion this story highlighted was hope. The security guard proves that he would fit right into Dana's family as a caring and thoughtful man.

Well done, Ms. Cherry!

Photo by browniesfordinner via the Flickr Creative Commons License